Using your EDC at a restaurant

I also remember back in the 50s/early 60s when, on rare occasions I'd go out to eat with my great-grandfather. He would ALWAYS use his own knife to eat with. It was a small 3 or 4 inch long 1/2 inch wide fixed blade. One of the most amazing things I ever saw him do with his "eatin' knife" was when he would eat his sweet peas with the knife. He was born in 1875 and grew up without forks. He would push the peas onto his knife with the spoon and eat the peas off the knife. Never cut his tongue or lips and that knife was SHARP and POINTY.
 
I carry knives first and foremost to cut things. If I need to cut something with my knife, then I won't hesitate to do so, and I won't care what people think. After all, that's why I bought my knife, and that's why I carry it. I don't see the point of carrying a knife around if you're not going to use it to cut things that need cutting.

And if my knife gets dull as a result of cutting something, well, that's life. If my knife gets dull from cutting something, that means it did it's job. Fortunately I don't have any difficulty sharpening my knives. I don't see the point of carrying a cutting tool if you are afraid of getting it dull from cutting things. If anyone considers a dull knife to be a problem, then I'd suggest working on your sharpening skills.

And some of us like our steaks well-done, even a little charred. A sharp knife can really come in handy. And even in a good restaurant the service can suck. You could sit there waiting quite awhile for someone to bring you a steak knife, or bring you another if the first was too dull.
 
I don't care what other people think. Maybe that's my problem...
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jonnyt16 said:
Actually, I think people like you should be the ones to turn your knives in and grow....a pair.

Would I ever purposely scare the "sheeple"? No of course not. But if the need ever arises to use my knife (and that may or may not include cutting a steak) then I'm going to use my knife. If today's feminized, overly sensitive men & women find that offensive, then thats their problem not mine. Personally, I'm tired of having to walk on eggshells to appease these wimps and succumb to their politically-correct utopian fantasy world. I carry a gun legally to protect my wife and children. I carry and use a knife legally to cut things that need to be cut. How about instead of us having to be "respectful of other's views" as you put it, how about THEY start becoming a little more respectful of our God-given rights??
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Those sheeple who don't respect your rights have more political power than you and you'd be stupid not to recognize that. As the minority we do have to occasionally walk on egg shells. I get tired of stories where someone was trying to feel like a man by brandishing their military murder knife while knowingly making a scene in public. Or maybe I'm just a puss...

I have no insults to exchange with you about my lack of maaaaarbles. ;)
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I use my knives in restaurants all the time. I get looks, but as long as I take my time opening my knife people don't seem to mind all that much:)
 
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I've used my own knives in restaurants many times, and generally do so without any negative looks or drama. The key is using the knife as it was meant to be used. Confidently draw and open yours knife, use it, and put it away. If you act like it's no big deal, most people won't think twice. If you brandish the thing, whipping it out with a huge wrist flick that can be heard across the room, you can expect to be judged a little bit. Same applies for trying to be too sneaky. Let them see it, open it slow, and use it responsibly. Hidden blades from under the table scare people. So basically, act like an idiot, and people will think you're an idiot, act like you're up to something, and people will think you're up to something. Act like you know what you're doing, and people won't think twice about your knife being used as a tool.
 
If I need to pull out my knife to cut my food, then i'll do it. I don't make a point to be noticed or go out of my way to make sure everyone see's what i'm doing. I'm not a noisy eater. I'm just cutting my food. If they don't like it, too bad.
I treat it the same way as if a fellow customer doesn't like my shirt. I'm not wearing it to upset anyone, its just a shirt. If they let it ruin their good time, that's their fault. Just don't behave like an idiot, waving it around and making a show of it and you're fine.
 
killgar said:
I carry knives first and foremost to cut things. If I need to cut something with my knife, then I won't hesitate to do so, and I won't care what people think. After all, that's why I bought my knife, and that's why I carry it. I don't see the point of carrying a knife around if you're not going to use it to cut things that need cutting.

And if my knife gets dull as a result of cutting something, well, that's life. If my knife gets dull from cutting something, that means it did it's job. Fortunately I don't have any difficulty sharpening my knives. I don't see the point of carrying a cutting tool if you are afraid of getting it dull from cutting things. If anyone considers a dull knife to be a problem, then I'd suggest working on your sharpening skills.

And some of us like our steaks well-done, even a little charred. A sharp knife can really come in handy. And even in a good restaurant the service can suck. You could sit there waiting quite awhile for someone to bring you a steak knife, or bring you another if the first was too dull.
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Yeah, I didn't think of that. I eat medium-rare and sometimes you don't even need a knife.
I still don't know if I could absolutely destroy my edge by grating it on a ceramic plate for 15 minutes. Like you said, knives are meant to be used and you will use it when things need to be cut. I've just never needed to. Well, that Waffle House "steak" at 2:00am really needed a sharper knife. ;)
 
I carry a PM2 M390 or a BM710 D2 almost exclusively. Neither of these are really considered "friendly" in the large city in which I live. I try to generally be discreet if I need to use a knife in public. I believe that I have a responsibility to recognize that not everyone around me may view my knife with the same mentality that I do and therefore should use it in such a manner that is considerate of those nearby.

That being said, if there's a legitimate need, I'll take it out and use it! I've used both knives in restaurants in the past and have not received any negative comments. Others' perception of you and your cutting utensil can be largely influenced by neat clothing and general appearance, mature and purposeful use of the knife, and a friendly smile.

-B

 
I honestly cannot think of a time that my pocket knife was needed to cut food at a restaurant...any restaurant...good, bad, or ugly. Now I have used my pocket knife occasionally to divide things while out and about from take out, and on picnics.
 
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I think the real issue here isn't using your knife at a restaurant but taking a photo of you doing it and posting it on a knife forum... :D

Oh, and I can't recall ever doing either.
 
I noted recently that on the Russell knife site they actually offer two versions of a folding steak knife. Thinking of getting one. The description notes that restraunt steak knives are NEVER sharp. An Opinel #6 or so also makes an excellent steak knife that is easy to sharpen when needed I understand. For those who do cooking at friends houses where the knives are dull Russell also offers a folding kitchen food preparation knife to take with you.

BTW why do most so called "Steak" knives have finely serrated blades. Most are virtually impossible to sharpen decently. I suspect that the fine serrations are supposed to make even a dull knife cut/tear a steak to pieces, if poorly.
 
As a general rule I won't, but if the missus is having issues cutting something I'll break it out.

I don't think I've ever had to use a knife on a piece of sushi though lol
 
I do it a lot. Most people never notice. Some of the chains like Outback don't have very good knives. More like bread knives.

I bought a knife specifically for this and no one has ever had a single complaint - just be cool about it. It's an Al Mar Falcon and it becomes my EDC whenever I'm going to a steakhouse.

Here's a pic:

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A great knife. Very sharp out of the box. I did get it better with my Japanese water stones. Hard to open one handed though. It's tight because it has no metal liners. Extremely light knife because of that.
 
Today I pulled my sog spec elite mini out of my pocket at McDonald's to cut a sandwich In half for my kid and the manager comes out and asked to leave! Sons of bitches are to scared at the sight of a blade to have respect for it.
 
BladePics said:
I do it a lot. Most people never notice. Some of the chains like Outback don't have very good knives. More like bread knives.

I bought a knife specifically for this and no one has ever had a single complaint - just be cool about it. It's an Al Mar Falcon and it becomes my EDC whenever I'm going to a steakhouse.

A great knife. Very sharp out of the box. I did get it better with my Japanese water stones. Hard to open one handed though. It's tight because it has no metal liners. Extremely light knife because of that.
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Nice knife! I've always wanted an Al Mar Falcon or Eagle. And yeah I think it would make an awesome "steakhouse knife" too. I'm not sure why after all this time I have yet to pull the trigger on one. Maybe cuz the price seems just a bit too steep for a thin piece of AUS-8 (even though I like AUS-8) I don't know. Good choice though.
 
I don't have trouble cutting my steak with the "dull" serrated steak knives most places have. I'd rather not bring attention to the fact that I'm carrying a knife either.
 
If I can get by with the provided knife, I will. However I will not hesitate to use my own when thier knife is useless. I have rarely needed to use my own.
 
tatfiend said:
BTW why do most so called "Steak" knives have finely serrated blades. Most are virtually impossible to sharpen decently. I suspect that the fine serrations are supposed to make even a dull knife cut/tear a steak to pieces, if poorly.
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Most steak knives are serrated because most restaurants use ceramic plates that damage edges. With a serrated knife, only the points of the serrations contact the plate, which means the scallops stay sharp(ish) even when the knife is abused. Of course, most restaurants think this means they never need to sharpen their knives...
 
Newbie 1 said:
Today I pulled my sog spec elite mini out of my pocket at McDonald's to cut a sandwich In half for my kid and the manager comes out and asked to leave! Sons of bitches are to scared at the sight of a blade to have respect for it.
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That's just crap.

I cut a hot dog in half out side Home Depot. I used the vendor's cart as a table. She just commented that I had a nice knife.
 
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